Smart Cities — April 2017 MNT Demo Night
Quality Speakers, Cool New Products and a Packed House Made for a Great Evening
Espace CDPQ was the setting for Montreal NewTech’s 4th demo night of the year, this time focussed on smart cities. On this occasion, another all-star lineup took to the stage to talk about how data can, is and should be used in making decisions about urban development. Sponsored by Local Logic, Centris and InnocitéMTL, the evening began with a panel discussion hosted by Marie-France Benoit of Altus Group featuring leaders in Quebec’s real estate sector:
Harout Chitilian, Vice-President of the Executive Committee (IT, Smart City, Operational Excellence, Strategy), Ville de Montréal;
Eric Charbonneau, CEO, Chambre immobilière du Grand Montréal;
Tracy Smith, SVP Marketing & Innovation, Ivanhoé Cambridge;
Vincent Charles Hodders, CEO, Local Logic
Did you know the city of Montreal gathers and stores tons of data about everything from construction projects, the movement of people throughout the city, real estate transactions, renovations and much more? It’s actually a lot of information. And now companies are using this data to help solve everyday problems in our city.
Through big data analysis, curious entrepreneurs and even established firms are able to identify emerging trends in how people move around and where they go. They also look at crime, corruption and security information, and basically anything else they can get their hands on.
All of this helps public and private entities decide where to make changes to traffic flow, where to build a grocery store or a park and thousands of other decisions that impact the quality of life of Montrealers.
Mr. Tracy Smith from Ivanhoé Cambridge explains that his company is even looking at ways to use real-time data to optimize the parking garages in their properties. “We know that most of the parking spaces in an office building are empty after hours. We should be able to rent spaces that are not in use to those who are looking for a place to park in the off hours, and data analysis will permit us to do this without inconveniencing our monthly customers”.
Eric Charbonneau, CEO, Chambre immobilière du Grand Montréal says “We get data from Local Logic, the city of Montreal as well as other sources. We use it to determine what services people are looking for in different areas and then we try to ensure those services get built”.
Vincent Charles Hodders of Local Logic added “Giving people new information may change how they make purchase decisions. Sellers therefore need to adapt to this change in consumer behaviour, and urban planners do as well”.
Our panelists agree that most government and administration issues involving urban development and real estate should be based on data. Mr. Chitilian pointed to snow removal as a great example. “150,000 people are now using the city’s Info-Neige app to obtain information automatically. Furthermore, we have algorithms in place already that are allowing us to optimize snow removal services in most burroughs. This allows us to provide better service at a reduced cost to the taxpayer”.
At the end of this insightful group discussion, the panel was asked what they think the most important uses and challenges for big data are when it comes to urban development. Answers included:
- Developing the right types of services in the right areas, reducing the need for people to move around.
- Transportation and energy; meaning that more efficient traffic flow and extended public transit services will not only lead to shorter travel times, but that this in turn reduces the amount of energy and fossil fuels used to propel these trips.
- And last but not least, Mr. Chitilian expressed his position that data security is the main challenge at this stage. He then proceeded to break the news that the city of Montreal will soon be creating the position of Chief Data Security Officer to that end.
Quite a scoop indeed!
Of course no Demo Night would be complete without the demos themselves. This time we had 4 truly amazing startups with great ideas on how to make the business of buying, owning, renting and repairing property much more efficient. First up, Daniel from PlaceOnAir.
PlaceOnAir offers virtual site visits for your property, so people can get a better sense of whether or not this property is the right fit for them before they actually come down to the site.This means the traffic you do get for a visit will be of a higher quality. Furthermore, this app allows you to give feedback regarding the property, so owners can find out if they’re losing out on potential buyers because of an out of date bathroom or some other factor that they can then upgrade to help convert a sale. There’s even a CRM built in to help people book their appointments right online. Get their app in the app store.
Next up, Jacques Dutil from BonAprt. This portal puts renters and landlords together and simplifies communication between them. It helps renters search apartments by area, and offers peer based ratings of landlords too, so you’ll know before you move in if this is an owner who fixes things or who lets their property go into disrepair. The value of this one is largely for the tenant, but as we learned in our panel discussion earlier, 67% of Montrealers are renting. Follow them on Facebook to stay up to date on all their important wheelings and dealings!
Third on the stage was an ingenious new invention called Ubios. Founder and CEO Mathieu Lachaine showed us how his product works.
Ubios is a smart valve that turns off the water in any room when there is nobody in it. This reduces water damage that occurs in homes and condos by a factor of over 90%, saving property owners and insurance companies millions as well as reducing the time it takes to execute those costly repairs. In short, it’s a landlord’s dream! Here’s how it works:
And last but certainly not least, Jean Olivier and Amir took the stage on behalf of their startup, Lexop.
Each year in Quebec in February and March, millions of letters are sent to renters asking them to confirm if they will renew their lease for the coming year and informing them of any increase in their rent. These important communications can be delivered in 1 of 3 ways:
1- By bailiff, which is expensive
2- By registered mail, which only confirms the envelope was received, but not if it was read, and
3- In person, which can be very time consuming for those who own multiple dwellings.
But no longer!
Lexop offers Certified File Sharing between renters and owners. Picture a form of certified email that let’s you know not only that the message has been received, but also if it has been read or not. This means no more ambiguity before the Regie du Logement. In fact, the Regie has already given its approval to Lexop, and they have also entered into a partnership with CORPIQ. Lexop has already proven itself in the legal field, and now they are making this technology available to property owners in Quebec, and soon beyond.
That brought an end to another exciting demo night from Montreal NewTech. Follow us on Facebook to keep up on all the latest news in the startup sector in Montreal. And be sure not to miss our next demo night in May, tickets sell out fast, so keep an eye on that FB page!
